Shine On Read Online Free PDF Page A

“Do you need anything at all: money, food?”
    “I promise, I’m fine. Go take care of your uncle. I’m sorry he’s unwell,” Emmie answered.
    “You sound like your mama,” Molly laughed. “Well, I’ve got to get to the train station. Ava’s is pacing the floor to talk to you right now. Take care, Emmie.”
    “Did you hear the news? We’ve got the house to our selves. Get over here,” Ava sang into the phone. Her voice was barely above a whisper; her Ma must still be in the room.
    “Oh, Ava. I don’t know. I’m beat. I think I’ll just turn in early. It’s been a long day,” Emmie said, toying with the cord and slipping off her shoes.
    “Come on, Emmie. You can relax here. It’s not good for you to be cooped up in that house by yourself like some old bird,” Ava begged.
    Old bird. That’s what she felt like lately. No one should feel like an old bird at her age. Ava was right, she refused to let this be the rest of her life. A bad, boring day at Mr. Thomas’s was not worth a night of moping, no matter how tired she was.
    “You’re right. I’m too young to be an old bird. Are the boys there?” Emmie asked.
    “Just us. I’m not sure when they’ll be back. Are you hoping to see one of my handsome McDowell cousins? Hypothetically speaking, which did you want to see more Trick or Silas? I couldn’t tell which you like best,” Ava laughed.
    “Ava, I was humiliated. I am interested in neither…” Emmie shouted into the phone and a traitorous grin escaped her mouth.
    “Well, I guess I get to choose for you then when you get here. You’ll come over right away?” Ava pushed.
    “Yes, I’ll be there soon,” Emmie gave in.
    Emmie smiled as she slipped into the dropped-waist sailor Ava had brought back from Chicago. The fabric was so soft and light it felt more like a nightgown than clothes. Ava or her ma always brought her back special things from Chicago. Clothes from the city always looked and felt a bit different than what you could find here. It was one of the few things she had that really made her feel special.
    She was unpinning her hair when she heard a knock at the door. Spotty jerked up from his pallet on the floor. Standing at attention, he took his spot and barked a warning at the front door. Emmie brushed him to the side. A quick peek out the window and she found Walter staring back at her. He was carrying a sack of flour.
    “Howdy there, Emmie. Brought you some flour for the paste. I’ll be needing it tonight,” he said, dropping the sack by the kitchen table.
    “No problem, Walter. I’ve got something I want you to try though.” She couldn’t keep the excitement out of her voice. He was going to be so pleased, she just knew it. “Do you have a minute for me to mix it up?”
    He merely nodded. He still wasn’t really happy with this arrangement, but he wanted to help the child out. For a good girl like her to come find him in a cave in the middle of the night and ask to help make ’shine… something wasn’t right. It liked to have broken his heart when she told him she wanted to go to school to be a teacher. She was a smart girl that’d just been given a hard row to hoe. Four dollars a month wasn’t going to get her to college but it was the best he could do right now. She scurried around the kitchen mixing up some concoction and… putting on a pot of tea?
    “Emmie, I ain’t really got time to have tea. Mae’s cooking up supper. Ya hungry? She and Max would love to see ya,” he said, rubbing his gray whiskers. Poor girl must be lonely.
    “Oh, I can’t. Thanks anyway. I’m actually just getting ready to head over to Ava’s. This’ll just take a minute. I’m not making tea. I’m going to use that pot to show you something.” She gave the mixture a final stir, scooped some up and beat the side of the bowl with the spoon testing the consistency. Then looked up at him with a grin, eyebrows raised.
    “That looks fine Emmie,” he answered her unspoken question